, 1887-02-22
Discussion on the Repeal Of the
Land Laws.
Accident on the Central
Pacific.
Washington Notes Elections in
Germany.
THE REPEAL OF LAND LAWS
Conference Report of Disagree
ment.

WASHINGTON, FEB. 2l.-After the
morning hour, Mr.. Cobb. of Indiana,
called up the conference report, a report
of disagreement, on the bill repeating the
pre- emption, timber culture and desert
land laws.
Mr.. Stone, Of Missouri, said that a
rapid augmentation of the population of
the country, the rapid decrease Of the area
of public lands and the growing demand
for homes had led the committee to report
a Measure to the house providing for the
repeal ofthe presumption, timber culture
and desert land laws. Under the existing
law a single person could enter l60 acres
un Ter the homestead. l60 acres under the
presumption, l60 acres under the timber
culture and GAO acres under the desert
land law, making a total of l,l20. The
committee had considered it wiser and
more humane that the lands should be
distributed in smaller quantities to 4
greater number of people. Outrageous
and scandalous abuse had grown up under
existing laws which had been taken advan-
tage of by cormorants and land sharks in
order to secure millions of acres of the
public land. These abuses the committee
had sought to correct.
The bill had gone to the senate which
had adopted a substitute for it. practically
agreeing to all hat the house had asked.
bit it had gone further and inserted sew
eral provisions to which the house confer
ees could not agree. One of those provis-
ions would result in confirming nine-tenths
Of all fraudulent entries, amounting to
millions of acres. The senate conlerees,
however, had agreed that this proposition
be eliminated. The seventh section of
the senate substitute permitted the entry
of 800 acres of mountainous land under
the homestead law. Though the house
conferees regarded this provision as i'll
advised and as establishing a new classif
cation Of public lands, they had yielded
this point. Another provision ofthis sub
made subject to private entry
public lands heretofore offered for sale and
remaining unsold. This provision had
been thoroughly discussed in confer
ence, but it was probable that an agree
might be reached upon it. had it
been for irreconciliable difference of
among conferees as to the eighth
of the substitute. That section
provided that after final proof of claimant
and issuing of duplicate receivers receipt,
if it shall be proved to the satisfaction of
the commissioners hat fraud has entered
into the title, unless it shall appear that
the land had been sold or conveyed to a
bona fde purchaser for a valuable consid-
the commissioner shall suspend
the issuing of a patent for the same, and
the same with the attorney general to
commence proceedings to set aside such
title, if in his judgment proceedings can
be maintained. This section he regarded
as inimical to every idea of sound legisia-
ton and of sound morals and honesty.
Mr.. Payson, of Illinois, said that polit.
ically he had never had an iota of symps
thy with the man who occupied the posi-
ton of commissions of the general land
Office. He did not stand here as Mr..
Sparks defender, politically; but he did
know that the commissioner had been
~endeavoring to do his duty as an execp-
tive officer; his attention had never been
called to any act in the commissioners
administration of his Office that he attrib-
uted to a sentiment other than that desig-
mated. Replying to the objection that the
bill would be in the interest of cattle com.
panies. and the assertion made in the
senate that special agents never assailed
the titles of cattle syndicates, he read
from the record of the land Office to show
that recently l,522 entries, covering 350,-
500 acres, claimed by cattle companies,
had been cancelled in a section of country
which could be covered by a hand on an
ordinary map of the United States. Re
ferring to abuses which existed under
existing laws, he said that one cattle COM
pany-the head of which was in the gal
lery listening to him-owned and con-
trolled an extent OF territory fifty by one
hundred and fifty miles, an area larger
than the whole state of Rhode Island.
This company was composed largely Of
foreigners, and an American citizen could
not rest his foot upon this large area Of